6 months ago my disability finely was approved ,and I took the Award letter to the Food stamp people ,like I'm sub post to,I did in a timely manner,,,Well the food stamp people made a mistake and gave me $200 of food ,,,By there admitted mistake ...

So today was the Trail by phone with a Judge ,there lawyer,was there on the phone Too,and Me over an hour on the phone with these people ,thay told the Judge thay made a mistake 4 time ,but thay were trying to make me pay $200 for there mistake,,,all the paper work that was done ,a Hour of a Judge's time a lawyer must of spent at least 4 to 5 hours of paper work ,thay sent me over 15 pages,2 days before the trail ,,,That wasn't in a Timely manner,,,the State must of spent atleast $1,500 trying to get $200 for a Mistake thay make ???

Moose, just because they made a mistake doesn't mean the money is yours and you can keep it.

While I agree with this, I do believe that giving people money that they think is legit by mistake puts a large share of the loss on the agency passing out the money. If we expect people to not spend money they believe is theirs just in case for the future, then why is the govt is giving you part of it's tax revenue for your pension saving?

The wise leaders of Orlando rejected a $5K settlement so they could pay $100K in lawyer fees and a $100K award to the plaintiff. Even though it was obvious in advance they would lose.

Not sure this is a good analogy. The Judge, DA ect in Moose's situation are all salary employees. They are going to be paid the same amount if they are dealing with this case or the next one, anything that crosses their desk, they are going to deal with. The State didn't spend any more money dealing with this case, than they would have, not dealing with it. They are not paid per diem. It didn't cost them more money to try to recover the $200.

Of course I am assuming, but I am sure there was some sort of initial, "We overpaid you, please send us back $, which was the overage" inquire. When that overture was declined, they took steps to get it back. I see no problem with that.

People make mistakes in every walk of life, you can't just close your eyes when those mistakes happen and hope the problem goes away. If it is possible to try to correct the mistake, that is the preferable route.

Of course I am assuming, but I am sure there was some sort of initial, "We overpaid you, please send us back $, which was the overage" inquire. When that overture was declined, they took steps to get it back. I see no problem with that.

Do your job right the first time ,,, this is Bizzy work ,,,so people have work to do ...
it cost 5x's more to do it twice ,,,I turn in my letter 3-14-13 and thay me june benafits,I probablly should of NOT got ,Apr.and May ,,, all I know is SSI told me when I get the letter ,,,go down to Food Stamps and give it to them ,I DID ,,,now I've Never did this befor ,,,But thay do it 10 ,20 X's aday ,thay should know what to do ,,,,
So it thay mess up ,MORE Work ,,,I won't get layed off ,if I mess up...I just have more work ,,,,LOOK HOW BIZZZZY I AM BOSS

Unless the mistake is obvious I question the logic of trying to get money back from people who lack the ability to repay it. I remember hearing a news report about retired military personnel who after receiving pension benefits for a period of time were told there was a mistake and it would be taken back. If the people receiving the benefit have no way of knowing what it should be.... within reason, then the payee should eat the loss and fix their problems.

Unless the mistake is obvious I question the logic of trying to get money back from people who lack the ability to repay it. I remember hearing a news report about retired military personnel who after receiving pension benefits for a period of time were told there was a mistake and it would be taken back. If the people receiving the benefit have no way of knowing what it should be.... within reason, then the payee should eat the loss and fix their problems.

Agree. At the same time, if da moose went to his favorite medicinal MJ dispensary and was given too much change and the clerk said "oops, I gave you too much change," should da moose be allowed to walk out because he's a deadbeat?

There are a bunch of details we don't know here, like the length of time between the mistake and the recognition of the mistake for one.

While it might not make economic sense to go after moose, the suit itself clearly does not appear to be "frivolous." Moose admits the money was paid to him in error, so the claim itself appears to be valid from what I can understand from moose's incoherent ramblings.

Shawndoggy, just to be clear my opinion is based on the logic that people of minimal means will not have that money to be returned. In your example that isn't the case. The time period between the mistake and the request to return the money is a key consideration.

Jon, they gave him the money and there were no conditions regarding fixing their mistakes. Owe is subjective in this case from a moral standpoint. I assume... They led him to believe that he was to receive that money, he spent it, and then they caused a hardship by asking for it back.

Did you see my point about the govt giving you money to invest in your retirement? Why do they do that?

from reading the story it sounds like they made a mistake which he was fully aware of and should have been aware of (meaning he knew the value of what he was transacting)... and therefor it is money owed.. this is how the world works.
If you go make a deposit at your bank and they key an extra zero on accident...when they catch that error they will take their money back and if you have already spent it, then you are liable to repay it and they will take justified legal action to retrieve get it.
Do I think it is a good use of time and resources to retrieve the $200? No I don't...but I think they are completely legally justified in doing it. taking advantage of an error is legally similar to a loan in the fact that you now owe them.
John - I do agree with your point about it not being worth it to try to collect on people who cant pay and in principal maybe they should eat the error, however legally that is not how it works necessarily... when doing a transaction or receiving money/benefits you are expected to know what you are receiving.

Fly135 has it Right ,,, when you start the Food stamps ,thay tell you ,if thay over pay you ,you have to Pay it back ,,,
when I got the SSI ,i didn't know you lose your Food... nobody said ,You're going to lose your Food...
Then one month i got nothing ,call and thay said ,You have SSI ,NOW
So a month later I got a call saying I owed $200 ,we made a mistake.
If this mistake happens more than once ,that Too Much OR is the mistake Make to make more work from the inside

I woun't find out the verdict of a week or 2 ,,,,Yes I should LOSE ,,,But the Judge keep Questing ,How this happen???

Thanks ,You know Me ,,,Just trying to make people LOL
,,,But if this happen just ,1% of the time ,think how much $$$ being wasted

I did every thing in a timly maner,,,I know it was just $200 ,,,NOW if it was $1,200 ,,,and I DID SOME THING WRONG ,,,COME AFTER ME ...
But ,thay said 4 X's thay made amistake ,,,You eat it and Hope your boss don't catch it the mistake.

This could be more of a zero tolerance / give a mouse a cookie approach.

Walmart won't ever settle a slip and fall claim on a nuisance basis, and will spend 4x as much on attorneys fees to not settle. Why? Because they want the word to be out that nobody is going to get a dime from Walmart.

In the UK pretty much any payment to you from the Gov or to them is your responsibility. So it is up to you to make sure it is correct if it is not you should inform them and get it corrected.

A great example of this is when they provided me via my employer with an incorrect tax code as they missed off some benefits for 3+ years in a row. This resulted in an under payment of £8000 roughly plus a late payment + interest charges of nearly £3000. It took me over 3 years and dozens of letters to get the interest removed. In theory I should have noticed the tax code was incorrect even though they are the ones who provide you with it under PAYE.

But the £8k was owed and so was paid. Simple. It is the only way. Govs are dealing with £bn's of transactions a year they simply cannot be liable for mistakes.